Tag: his dark materials

BBC One announced today that they’re going to be adapting Phillip Pullman’s His Dark Materials trilogy into a drama series a la Game of Thrones or their fantastic adaptation of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell.

I still remember the first time I read the fight between the armored bears in The Golden Compass and you realized the twist that was about to happen. Took my 14 year old breath away. And The Subtle Knife has a death scene that reduced me to a sobbing ball of uncontrollable feelings. (I’m serious, I was sitting in my hallway, unable to stop crying. My mom had to step around me.) And oh my god, when they go to the land of the dead in the third book???? There’s SO much to cover here, and so much potential for an amazing adaptation.

The book deserves a better movie. Oh, the Golden Compass movie annoyed me so much. If switching the chronological order of book events wasn’t bad enough, completely omitting the ending that tied the entire story together was borderline unforgivable. The Golden Compass (or Northern Lights, if you’d rather) has THE GREATEST ENDING, and the movie cut it out. Yup. Just severed the story’s culmination, the big finale, the chaotic conclusion when everything came together. For what purpose? To stay family-friendly?

That movie neutered itself in so many ways, glossing over the book’s darker, deeper themes in an effort to make a fun action, family-friendly romp — which this book was not meant to be. The Golden Compass in the right hands should be a deeply moving story about a little girl taking on a problem too big for her, trying to rescue her friend from kidnappers whose crimes are actually far worse. It’s a story about betrayal, and manipulation, and selfishness, and love, and bravery, and empathy. The movie just didn’t understand the story it was adapting.

BBC Adaptations tend to be great. I’m thinking North & South, Pride and Prejudice, Emma — okay so I’ve only mostly seen their classical adaptations, but still! I trust the BBC to actual stay true to the spirit and the story of the books.

This is going to be amazing. There’s so much to look forward to — casting news! Production stills! THE ACTUAL TV SHOW. The only problem will be getting my hands on the show once it airs, seeing as I’m stuck across an obtruding ocean. Hopefully H.D. versions will be made available on iTunes or something. *cries*